Worth Fighting For
by NocturnalUnicorn
Summary: WWII AU. After his dishonorable discharge from the Finnish Army, Tino Väinämöinen runs away to Helsingborg, Sweden to escape his past. There, he meets Berwald Oxenstierna: a carpenter who is more involved in the war effort than it may seem. SuFin with a side of DenNor and GerIta.


Worth Fighting For

Summary: SuFin. WWII AU. After his dishonorable Discharge from the Finnish Army, Tino Väinämöinen runs away to Helsingborg, Sweden to escape his past. There, he meets Berwald Oxenstierna: a carpenter who is more involved in the war effort than it may seem.

Rating: M for non-explicit sex and depictions of violence.

Note: Yes, I used to be Schizounicorn, but I changed my pen name :).

August 20, 1943

Tino Väinämöinen had arrived in Helsingborg, Sweden completely penniless. He had come to this realization just hours before, after checking the pockets of his trousers for a spare krona to pay for a loaf of bread from the little bakery beside the train station. Never had the feeling of cotton pocket lining against his fingers been so depressing.

Tino rolled his sore shoulders, causing the weight of his rucksack and his rifle to shift uncomfortably on his back. Then, he yawned. The sound was so loud that it almost drowned out the clopping of Tino's brown boots hitting the cobblestone.

"I should sit down," he said to no one in particular.

The young man looked to his left and then to his right. There were shops and apartments with brick facades on either side of him, but all of them seemed to have their lights turned out. It was 3:00 am, after all, so it was likely that Tino was the only person awake. In front of one shop window was a bench, empty and waiting to be used. Tino figured that this would be a good place to settle for the night. He had no money to pay for a hotel room. He placed his rucksack at one end of the bench and laid down, using it as a pillow. It was lumpy and hard in some places, but better than nothing. He propped his rifle, a wood and metal Mosin-Nagant, against one of the shop walls. Hopefully, he would not get any more flack for having it. There was no way that he could bear to part with it.

The rifle, of course, had come from Tino's previous life in Finland. Before he had become homeless three weeks ago, he had been a soldier in the Finnish army. In fact, he was a Lieutenant. During the ill-fated Winter War against the Russians, he had become known for his skills as a sniper. Now that the Continuation War against the Russians was on, he was a leader. Well, he had been until his dishonorable discharge. In Tino's opinion, however, he had done nothing dishonorable at all.

There had been another young soldier: a tall, sturdily built brunet named Aleksi Vuorinen. As far as Tino was concerned, he had been perfect. He had been a good soldier and a good friend. He had been gentle and patient and so, so handsome that Tino had supposed that he couldn't help falling in love with him. The thick, sensual tension that had been shared between the two had made the killing, the cold, and constant battles with the enemy more bearable. Aleksi had _lived _in Tino's every thought. Soon beneath heavy gunfire over the trenches, Aleksi had whispered that he had similar feelings for Tino.

From then on, the two had experienced a secret courtship involving kisses stolen behind rusting pieces of artillery and touches shared in the dead on night. Even though Aleksi had seemed to feel ashamed, Tino had been confident that he would come to his senses and realize that the two of them had belonged together, both on and off of the battle field. Unfortunately, Tino had thought wrong.

News of their affair had traveled quickly to the higher ups, and the source of it had been none other than Aleksi himself. The story that the field officers had heard was far different than reality: Aleksi had made it look like Tino had been some sort of predator who had tried and failed to tempt him into a "homosexual lifestyle". Tino had been stripped of his rank and sent from the battle field packing. Aleksi, on the other hand, had been allowed to stay. He had turned in the "faggot", after all. The only concession that they had made was the fact that Tino had been allowed to keep his rifle. Tino still wasn't sure why they had agreed to do so.

Tino had then returned to Espoo, where he and his mother had moved after the Russians took away Karelia and as a result, their farm land after the Winter War. His mother had not been able to look at him, and it wasn't long until his neighbors had found out about the scandal as well. Tino had been lucky that he hadn't been arrested.

So Tino had decided to run away. He had run until he found himself homeless in the streets of Sweden. Now he was far from home, but too numb to care.

Tino's eyes drifted shut and fluttered slightly. Somehow, he managed to fall asleep.

"Berwald, wake up," said a voice in the dark. Berwald Oxenstierna turned on his bedside lamp and illuminated the well-defined face of his cousin, Lukas Bondevik.

Berwald put on his wire famed glasses and allowed his eyes to adjust to the light, "What are you doin' up?" he asked, "Clock says 's three twenty."

Lukas sighed, "I came in to tell you to look out your window. Someone's out there. Saw him when I got up to open the window."

Berwald sat up and got out of bed, "Fine," he said, "I'll go look."

He walked across the hard wood floor of his bedroom and pulled back the blue and white checked curtains that covered his window. Helsingborg was just as dark and quiet as any other night. "I don' see anything."

Lukas sighed, "Berwald, look down. Straight down. There's someone on the bench."

Berwald did as he was told and looked straight down. Indeed, there was someone on the bench: a sleeping blond man. "'M goanna go talk to him," said Berwald, turning around and heading out the door.

Lukas gave a tired grunt of approval.

Berwald had to go down a flight of stairs, through his carpentry workshop, across his furniture shop floor, and out the front door in order to get to the bench. When he got a good view of the man lying there, he decided that it was worth the walk.

The sleeping man was young, around Berwald's age. He had a soft, round face that was perfectly framed by his feathery, ash blond hair, even if said hair was a bit tangled. The man had a soft and lightly pudgy build. The young man looked so gentle while he slept that Berwald almost didn't want to wake him. However, Berwald couldn't let this young man sleep outside on a bench, so he decided to wake him slowly. That way, he wouldn't end up at the end of the barrel of his rifle.

"'lo," Berwald said, "you should wake up, it's cold out here."

The young man's eyes snapped open. He sat up, scooted backwards and let out a sharp scream.

Not only was he up, but the whole neighborhood as well. Windows became glowing yellow rectangles against the darkness as everyone turned on their lights and got out of bed to investigate.

"Shut up, will ya!" a woman shouted from a window across the street.

"What's going on?" shouted another.

Berwald covered Tino's mouth with a large, calloused hand, "Shhhh, there's nothin' to be afraid of. You woke the whole street up, though."

The young man pushed Berwald's hand away and drew a deep, trembling breath. "Sorry," he said, "you just scared me. I guess I was sleeping pretty deeply, huh. Well, you know, I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a long time, so that must be a lot of it." He smiled as he spoke, but it was a nervous smile, the kind that one might wear when talking to an unpleasant boss.

"Ya have an unusual accent," Berwald said, "where are ya from?"

The young man's smile lost some of its nervous edge. He grabbed Berwald's right hand and shook it. "Sorry," he said, "I was rude wasn't I? I'm Lieutenant Tino Väinämöinen. The accent that you're hearing is Finnish."

Berwald nodded and hoped that Tino wouldn't notice the reddening of his cheeks. The young man was just so friendly that it was a bit disarming. "Name's Berwald Oxenstierna. Run this furniture shop 'ere."

"Nice to meet you, Berwald," Tino replied, "You're a carpenter, I take it. I'm a soldier, well, I used to be. Anyways, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, I'll just move on." Tino stood up and threw his rucksack and rifle over his shoulder.

Berwald felt his gut drop. Something told him that he couldn't let Tino leave. He couldn't bear to think of him remaining homeless. "I'm also a landlord," Berwald said. "Fixed up a few extra rooms above 'm shop. Plan on renting 'em out. You can stay for free t'night."

Tino's smile grew so wide that even his eyes seemed to reflect it. Berwald hadn't noticed before, but Tino's eyes were a shade of blue so deep that it was almost violet. "You mean it? Thank you so much! You really don't have to do this, really. It's okay."

Berwald pushed open the glass door to his shop and gestured to the inside. "I'll show you to your room," he said.

If Tino could describe Berwald in just one word, it would be angular. The hulking man had the harshest and most defined facial features that he had ever seen. From his square jaw to his prominent cheekbones, Berwald looked like something carved out of stone. Even his blond hair was cut short and choppy. Sure, he was rather handsome, but Tino was certain that the very tall man was angry at him.

"The room's up t' stairs," Berwald said, "follow me."

Before Berwald could open the door leading to the stairwell, however, another man came out from the other side. Though he was much shorter, the other man seemed to share Berwald's sharp facial features.

"Hello," he said.

"'M cousin, Lukas Bondevik. Used to live in Norway. He's stayin' in the room next to mine. Your room is across the hall from his."

Lukas raised a thin, blond eyebrow. Tino couldn't help but feel like he was being scrutinized. "You let 'em in, huh," he said, "I'll get some extra sheets and a towel."

Berwald nodded and Lukas disappeared up the stairs.

"He sure is quiet," Tino said as the two of them began to ascend the steps. "Is he tired? Oh, and he's from Norway. Did he piss off the Germans or something?" Tino couldn't stop the words from pouring from his mouth, Berwald _had_ to know that he was nervous.

The man in question cleared his throat. "Let's jus' go upstairs an' sleep. You can also take a shower in the morning if you want to."

"Thank you," Tino said, fearing that he had asked too many questions. That was easy to do, especially when almost the whole world was at war and everyone seemed to know too much.

Tino and Berwald arrived at the top of the steps. There was a small, dark hallway ahead with wood paneled walls and a red plush carpet. There were three doors on each side of the hallway.

Berwald walked over to a door labeled "2" and went inside. When he returned, he held a silver key in his hand, which he gave to Tino. The metal was still warm from his touch when Tino took it. Lukas then emerged from one of the rooms on the left side of the hallway.

"I put sheets on your bed and hung up your towel. I'd advise you to go to sleep now, it's almost four in the morning." Lukas then opened the door to the room across the hall and closed the door.

"You're sleepin' in that room: number four." said Berwald.

"Well then," Tino said, "good night, I'll see you in the morning."

Historical Notes:

Helsingborg is a town in southern Sweden. The Danish city of Helsingør (known in English as Elsinore) is across the waters of the Øresund and is clearly visible from the shore.

The Winter War against the Soviet Union lasted from 1939-1940. After losing, Finland was forced to cede the Karelian Isthmus, Salla, and the Rybachi Peninsula. Finland went to war with the Soviet Union once again in 1941 in what came to be known as the Continuation War. Interestingly, the Finns sided with Nazi Germany for this war, if only to try and take back the lands lost in the aftermath of the Winter War.

Mosin-Nagant: a variety of bolt action rifle used by Finnish snipers. The first model was developed in Imperial Russia.


End file.
